Iceland drills 4.7 km into volcano to tap clean energy

It’s named after a Nordic god and drills deep into the heart of a volcano: “Thor” is a rig that symbolises Iceland’s leading-edge efforts to produce powerful clean energy.

If successful, the project could produce up to 10 times more energy than an existing conventional gas or oil well, by generating electricity from the heat stored inside the earth. Launched in August 2016, the drilling was completed on January 25, reaching a record-breaking depth of 4,659 metres. At this depth, engineers hope to access hot liquids under extreme pressure and at temperatures of 427 degrees C, creating steam that turns a turbine to generate clean electricity.